Quiet Contemplation Or Worry-free Fun? (Kara)

[Kia Brightstar]

Kia spun the younger boy around the Student Lounge playfully, ignoring his laughing yells and screams. Kia smiled down at the boy fondly, ruffling his dark brown hair playfully and letting go of him. Before she had approached him, the young boy had been missing his family and had trouble making friends. Kia had introduced him to a few of her younger friends and left him in their care but still enjoyed his company, something about him reminded her of her younger sister. "Go on you. You still have homework to finish if I know you and I'm sure that a few of your friends will help you if you get stuck. If its really bad then come and find me, I'll probably still be here." Kia hugged the small boy before shooing him away. The boy nodded and hugged her back before dashing out of the door and running down the corridor.

Kia chuckled and flopped onto a chair wearily, pushing her long hair away from her face fretfully. Amusing the young boy for a short time had stirred up blurry memories of the mother that she could barely remember playing with Kia when she was younger. Her younger sister had been asking questions about her mother for a few months now and Kia had nothing to tell her. Her dad could help but he refused to talk about their mother and only threw himself deeper into his work when he was asked about his beloved wife. Kia shrugged, staring into the flickering fames of the fire and letting them burn away her worries. Some things should just be left to play out the way they were meant to and there was nothing that anyone could do about it. Some people called it fate but Kia didn't bother to name it, just trusting that everything would work out for the best.

"Whatever will be will be." Kia whispered the words to herself quietly as she slipped off her chair to curl up next to the fire.The warmth of the flames spread through her and made her worries about her family fade. In an instant, Kia whipped her sketchbook out but not her pencil. Instead she flipped straight to a certain page, gazing down at a sketch of her father and sister smiling up at her. The sketch had been drawn last summer and Kia could remember the many complaints of her sister about sitting for so long and the joyful laughter of her father. Kia smiled peacefully and placed the sketchbook on the floor by her hand. The memories were content to lie for now and Kia was only too glad to let them rest. Kia's attention was caught by the creaking of the door and she turned to see who was entering the room with a welcoming smile.

((Feel free to change the title, I had inspiration for the post but none for the title I'm afraid.))

[pokadot]

Kara Rivers flopped jadedly through the door to the Student Lounge, completely fatigued. Her short cropped hair, though too short to actually look like a complete and downright mess, was still tangled, he fringe speckled with ink from where Kara had been wiping her hands through her hair despairingly after getting them covered in ink. Kara’s dark brown eyes were almost closed and rolled sleepily in her head as she collapsed into a couch. Once on the dark brown sofa, Kara glanced around her. The room was occupied by a few people, one of which was staring rather oddly at Kara with a big smile on her face. Kara smiled uneasily back, before thinking back to why she was so tired.

Kara had been chasing her sweet little ginger cat Tom for almost an hour straight, playing the game she began when the cat was tiny. Kara would, as four or five year old, seize Tom’s tail with a firm grip in both of her podgy little toddler hands. The cat almost felt nothing- what was firm and hard to the little Kara was barely a pat for Tom. Tom would stay still for a few moments, letting Kara think he was actually loosing. Then he would go- running as far as his stripy orange legs would take him. When he noticed Kara wasn’t nearly as fast as him as a toddler he would trot, giving her a little chance.

Eventually Kara got older, and being the sporty girl she grew to be, could chase Tom for a far bit without loosing him completely. More than once she had chased him on her broom- something he disliked though didn’t run from or fight and put up with for her sake.

That day Kara had chased him again, this time being further behind than usual. The two both had fun- although it may sound as though Tom disliked being ‘chased’; he enjoyed them and often slipped his own tail into Kara’s hands as if offering a chase. Kara had been loaded with overdue essays lately- and hadn’t had much time to keep up her usually steady and stable sport regime. Although she hadn’t been lagging, she hadn’t been very near him as they scampered- in his case- or sprinted- in hers. So now she was exhausted and lay in the couch as if it would save her. She closed her eyes sleepily, ignoring the smile from the friendly Gryffindor she knew she recognised. Not out of dislike or cruelty- she just wanted a few minutes rest before doing the meeting and greeting scene.

((No, it's fine. ))

[Kia Brightstar]

Kia lifted an eyebrow in faint amusement as the girl merely lay on the couch and ignored Kiana's gentle smile of welcome. Kia shrugged, honestly not bothered by the apparent rudeness and took a few seconds to study the girl discreetly. She knew that she recognised the girl from somewhere but couldn't exactly remember where. Kia closed her eyes thoughtfully, thinking over her three years at Hogwarts. The girl was most likely a third year as she was in most, if not all, of Kia's classes. A slight frown wrinkled Kia's forehead for a second before a truimphant smile appeared. The girl was a third year Hufflepuff, Kara Rivers or something like that. Kia reopened her sketchbook and picked up her pencil, taking advantage of the girls stillness and drawing her. She hadn't drawn anything in a day or two and Kia really missed the feel of her pencil between her fingers and the soft scratch of pencil on paper.

"Kara Rivers, am I correct?" Kia didn't look up from her page, still drawing the outline of the girl intently. "No, don't move. Just five more minutes...please?" Kia warned Kara to stay still quietly before thinking better of not asking and changing the order to a plea. Kia wasn't being rude, she was just used to plenty of people willing to be her models in exchange for a copy of the picture. Her sister, father and other family were quite glad to sit still for ten or fifteen minutes, only too happy to oblige the often hyper-active girl. The only time that Kia was actually quiet was when she was drawing something or thinking about her family. Drawing and family, the two most important things in Kia's life. Kia thought of her closest friends as family and the less close friends as companions. Both types of friends were invaluble but close friends were a gift, a gift that Kia didn't experience very often. "I'm Kia, by the way. Kiana Brightstar."

((Sorry its shorter than my last post. This was as much as I could write before being kicked off the computer. My next one will be longer, I promise.))

[pokadot]

Kara glanced up at the girl, who had, for some unknown reason, begun to draw Kara. She eyed the sketch pad nervously. After a small moment the girl spoke. "Kara Rivers, am I correct? No, don't move. Just five more minutes...please?" Kara observed the girl. Kiana Brightstar, the Gryffindor third year with a rather odd last name. The girl obviously wasn’t annoying Kara intentionally but Kara spoke rather harshly, without meaning to. “Yes, I’m Kara.” Once saying this she shifted her position, crossing her legs beneath her and fingering a loose thread on her brown khaki-shorts. Her cropped blonde hair she ran her fingers threw wearily, and once having changed almost everything about her former position she put on a picture of mock shock.
“Oh dear, did I ruin the picture?” She knew she wasn’t being very nice. But she didn’t want to chat- wanted to lie down and think, think about how she could keep up her sport regime. How about extra Quidditch? She sighed at that- it wouldn’t work. She already did as much Quidditch as possible, so there was no way she could boost that effort. Swimming? She swam in the lake as often as she dared, usually doing so on the chilly mornings when it woke her up for the day ahead.

Troubled about the small problem Kara eyed Kiana again. She had just spoken again, which made Kara sigh exasperatedly. Ok, so now Kiana was inviting and starting the entrance to a conversation. But Kara didn’t want to talk! What could she do to set this girl off course without completely seeming like a total Slytherin? Kara knew she was acting childishly when she spoke next, but in her current tired, troubled state of mind she didn’t really care.

“Yes, I know who you are, thank you.” She interrupted the girl’s introduction of herself. “I would appreciate it if you do not draw me. Amazingly brilliant as I am, I don’t like people surveying me or watching me closely which is pretty much needed for a good sketch. Maybe if you asked I would have complied and given a smile for the pencil, but in my current tired state I do admit I am grouchy and do not wish for someone to sketch me without my consent.” She stopped abruptly, ripped the loose brown thread off in one sharp pull and began to recite in her head all of the famous warrior goblins from the past wars.

[Kia Brightstar]

Kia forced herself to restrain her scowl as the girl moved. How irritating and deliberately annoying. Instead Kia merely shrugged, turning the page and beginning a new sketch of her younger sister from memory. If the girl had just refused politely rather than intentionally annoy and anger Kiana then it wouldn't have fanned the flames of her already heated temper. But she did annoy Kia and so the temper was slowly bubbling over, waiting for another rude comment so it could explode and show this girl exactly why she shouldn't annoy Kiana Brightstar. Her temper was almost legendary among her immediate family, that being her father and sister, as the smallest little thing had set the temper off. Lately, Kia had learned to control her temper and hadn't had an outburst in all her three years at Hogwarts but one more rude or irritating comment and her temper was going to make a comeback.

"No, thats quite alright. The picture was already ruined by my choice of subject." Kia smiled sweetly, masking her subtle insult with sweetness. Some people just didn't know how to be polite and Kia usually avoided those people but now it seemed that she didn't have a choice. Leaving the room would seem that she had been chased away by the Hufflepuff and no Hufflepuff would ever make Kia run away. So the only option was to stay and give as good as she got. "Oh, most people know who I am." Kia lied smoothly, knowing very well that many people didn't know her by face, only by surname. The Brightstars weren't an extremely influential family nor were they one of the richest but they had enough influence and wealth to save Kia from having to be nice to everyone. "I just wanted to save you from any embarrassment if you didn't know my name when I knew yours."

"Amazingly brilliant? Ms Rivers, I do believe that your mirror has been lying to you all these years. You are not particularly beautiful nor stunning. And trust that I am telling the truth when I say that if I had any choice about another model then I would have chosen differently. Unfortunately, you are the only girl present and I did not particularly feel like drawing a boy." Kia surveyed Kara disinterestedly before turning her attention back to the sketch of her sister. But before she started drawing again, she shot one last retort to the girl about her considerably Slytherin like behaviour. "I didn't know that Hufflepuffs had started to act like Slytherins.Though you don't really pull it off, maybe you should ask a true Slytherin for some pointers."

[pokadot]

Kara grinned as the girl began to slowly retort. This was amusing. In her three years at Hogwarts she had only had a verbal argument with about fifty thousand Slytherins, two Ravenclaws, a couple of Hufflepuffs about whether yellow was slightly too luminous- Kara had disagreed, loving the fun, open colour. But the two other girls had complained that it hadn’t suited their complexions very well. The thought of it made Kara grin openly. She thought about how many tiffs she’d had with Gryffindors, and found the result to be none. Zilch. Zero. So why was this Gryffindor acting so defensive? Kara watched, amused as the girl talked. Once she had done Kara waited for a few moments as if she were pondering the amount of spice in the words, then spoke with an amused tone.

“Firstly, I wouldn’t have ruined the picture if you had first informed me of your intention to use me as a ‘subject’. Most professional artists would ask first instead of wasting lead.” She paused to let the words sink in, staying fairly calm. This girl was a laugh. “Secondly, I only know who you are as we spend almost all of our classes together, and I highly doubt most people know who you are. Embarrassment if I didn’t know your name? Unlikely. Why on earth would someone be embarrassed for not knowing somebody’s name? There’s completely nothing to be embarrassed about it is a perfectly normal thing to do.” She stopped speaking to wrap the brown thread she had pulled from her shorts around her index finger, and then continued.

“Being amazingly brilliant certainly does not mean I am beautiful and I do not remember giving off the idea that I thought I was. I do know I am not ‘particularly beautiful nor stunning’, and if you take the time from your highly unfriendly retorts to glance around you then you shall see there are a couple of girls in this room, this being the time that this room is fairly full.” She stopped again, and shifted her position again. From her crossed legs she swapped it to lying comfortably on the couch, head on one soft armrest and feet on the other, after having kicked off her black sandals.

She was about to stop and continue studying mentally when the Gryffindor girl said yet another unnecessary comment. Kara grinned, closed her eyes and answered softly without expression. “Acting like a Slytherin? I had no intention of doing so. I simply informed you that I did not wish to be drawn, and in my tired state of mind almost any sane person would agree that it was a fair point. If someone came in and started using you as their target for some spells without asking first, surely you wouldn’t want that to happen? You’d most likely ask them to stop as they hadn’t asked for your compliance with what they were doing.” She stopped talking then added in an undertone, “and you may want to get that fiery temper of your sorted, Kiana.” After that she relaxed comfortably in the warmth of the couch and began again with the History.

[Kia Brightstar]

Kia chuckled to herself quietly as her anger faded slowly, finally starting to enjoy the small argument. She hadn't really had many in her three years at Hogwarts, repressing her fiery personality and staying in the background where fights and arguments were involved. As a result, Kia hadn't had a good argument in roughly three years and so threw herself into this one with gusto, adding all her worry and anger from the last three years into it to finally dispense it from her soul. Sometimes it was just refreshing to argue with someone and not worry about how they would react; worrying about reactions was why Kia found it hard to have a proper argument with her friends. If they took Kia's yelling the wrong way then she'd be down one friend and worrying about how to fix the friendship. No; it was far easier and simpler to just repress her temper and keep her friends. But this girl wasn't her friend and so Kia didn't have to worry about angering her.

"I know that I should have asked and I'm sorry for being rude and not asking. The reason for my not asking is simply that I'm used to my family and friends not complaining if I start drawing them without asking. So I'm sorry for being rude in that aspect. You however, did not have to be so infuriatingly difficult and rude. You could have just asked me to stop and I would have. There was no need to be so rude." Kia stopped talking to fix the head of her sister in the sketch before looking up again. "I merely added that because I would be embarrassed or even uncomfortable if I was talking to someone in my year and most of my classes who knew my name but I didn't know theirs. Maybe thats just the way I was brought up though." Kia smiled sweetly, guessing that the girl wouldn't pick up on the subtle insult about her upbringing since she hadn't caught the one about her appearance.

Kia half-smiled as Kara retorted to her comment about Kara's Slytherin attitude expressionlessly. "You may have had no intention of acting like a Slytherin but you gave the impression that you wished to be one. And there is a big difference between someone drawing you and someone shooting spells at you for no reason. As for your comment about my temper, I rather like my temper. Its easy to keep under control unless I am simply not bothered about annoying or insulting someone." Kia turned away from the girl and started to draw her sister again, her tense features smoothing out and changing to love. Kia's younger sister meant the world to her and she was the one person that Kia could never remain angry with, no matter what she did. Even when Kia resented her sister because she blamed her for their mothers death, it hadn't taken long for Kia to stop resenting her sister and start to love her.